ITV have the Flesh and Blood of Imelda Staunton, Russell Tovey and Stephen Rea

ITV have released details on the casting of their latest drama Flesh and Blood.

Imelda Staunton, Francesca Annis, Russell Tovey and Stephen Rea have begun filming Flesh and Blood – a darkly witty and gripping four-part drama created and written by Sarah Williams (The Long Song, Case Sensitive, Poppy Shakespeare), which explores family dynamics and modern relationships as they spiral towards a tragedy and possible crime.

Joining the ensemble cast are Claudie Blakley, Lydia Leonard, Sharon Small, Lara Rossi, Keir Charles, Vincent Regan, David Bamber, Stephanie Langton and Clara Indrani.

Directed by BAFTA nominee and Grierson award winner Louise Hooper Flesh and Blood is a modern story of three adult siblings – Helen (Blakley), Jake (Tovey) and Natalie (Leonard) – who are thrown into disarray when their recently widowed mother Vivien (Annis) declares she’s in love with a new man, Mark (Rea).

As she nears her 70th birthday, the siblings’ suspicions are heightened when retired GP Mark sweeps their mother off her feet, shifting her priorities away from her children. The happiness of her 45-year marriage to their father, Terry, is called into question, which sends a seismic shock through the lives of the siblings. Years of secrets, lies, rivalries and betrayals come to the surface and threaten to blow apart everything they’ve held dear.

With their large family home overlooking the Sussex coast, their inheritance and the happy memories of their childhood all suddenly threatened by the arrival of Mark, the siblings attempt to find out more about him. But will their long-buried grudges and complicated personal lives allow them to pull together?

Then there’s Mary (Staunton), who has lived next door to Vivien for 40 years. Despite not being family, Mary appears unhealthily attached to Vivien and her family’s unfolding drama.

Filmed on location in London and along the Sussex coast, Flesh and Blood is produced by Silverprint Pictures.